Water Beats Ephedra for Fat Loss

Water is without a doubt the most abundant substance in the human body yet it is still taken for granted by many people. It is involved with the digestion and absorption of the foods we eat as well as the transportation of the nutrients extracted from them. Water affects nearly ever biological process and function.

A recent study indicates that drinking water may even increase your metabolic rate and help you lose weight. This new study reports the impact water consumption has on fat loss. The study focused on the activation of the sympathetic nervous system. It showed that increased water consumption influenced blood pressure by increasing norepinepherine levels and also by increasing sympathetic nerve traffic (activity). This activation of the sympathetic nervous system increased cellular glucose uptake and stimulated lipolysis. In a nut shell drinking water increases the ability of your body to lower blood sugar and burn body fat.

In late 2003 Dr. Boschmann and his colleagues studied 14 healthy, normal-weight subjects (seven men and seven women), and assessed the effect of drinking 500ml of water on energy expenditure. They also examined the effect consuming water would have on fat metabolism.

The study showed that drinking 500 ml of 70 degree water increased metabolic rate by 30%. The increase occurred within 10 minutes. The total effect was an additional 25 calories burned during the course of an hour. It was theorized that 40% of the thermogenic effect originated from our bodies’ efforts in warming the water to body temperature. Based on the study results, it can be estimated that increasing water ingestion by two liters of water per day could increase energy expenditure by approximately 100 calories.

In real terms, we can compare this to the ingestion of 50mg of ephedrine three times daily. Shannon et al, (1999) showed that this amount of ephedrine increased energy expenditure approximately 80 calories per day.

Yet ephedrine has been linked to countless strokes, seizures, heart attacks, and even deaths while drinking more water has been linked to nothing more serious than trips to the rest room. So my recommendation is skip the dangerous and soon to be illegal stimulants and pick up a few bottles of water.